There is a sense of relief and anticipation for tourism in the Philippines to finally pick up and help the country recover from a pandemic that has devastated the entire world.

The current administration has said as much about recovery and vital to that is for the country to start receiving and accepting more tourists. There is still of course some uncertainty as COVID-19 cases recently have risen in neighboring countries like China.

Nevertheless, things will eventually normalize and the day can’t come any sooner for us to begin preparing for the eventuality that more tourists will be keen on coming here.

So from a brainstorming standpoint, should we come up with ideas to hasten the recovery, especially for our tourism industry, I bring you a very popular reality TV show in the UK called Love Island.

Basically, it’s a gathering of attractive men and women who are set up on an island to fall in love.

Why does the author think that this could potentially be a game changer in promoting the country to the world?

Here are 9 reasons why:

1. THE PHILIPPINES HAS 7,640 ISLANDS and with the risk of ending up stumbling face first with a poor attempt at humor, the show is called Love ISLAND after all. The possibilities are just endless. You can take your pick from any of the well known attractions: Boracay, Palawan, Sulu, Cebu, Pagudpud, Siargao just to name a few. Just the drone shot over these islands alone is enough for a million dollar ad placement.

2. A MIX OF LOCAL AND FOREIGN PARTICIPANTS will make the casting for the reality show perhaps the most representative of the region. Think Amazing Race Asia turned into a social love experiment. Korean, Japanese, Australian, Chinese, Asian combined with the exotically beautiful people of our country spells a rich storyline from just the hodgepodge of culture meshing together waiting to be discovered.

3. Much like our local talent, the ISLANDS HAVE THEIR OWN PERSONALITY that the country can promote to the world. Imagine our islands becoming what K-pop is to South Korea. A viable commodity that can be developed, promoted in a more commercially viable way.

4. LOVE ISLAND GAMES would fit perfectly in promoting certain facets of the Islands featured for the show. There are bits in the reality show where couples end up going to the local communities for a challenge. These moments can be set up purposely to highlight Filipino hospitality and kindness.

5. LANGUAGE WON’T BE A BARRIER. Filipinos are still the most proficient with the English language in the region. It will be relatable to any type of audience and should it attempt to penetrate a non-english speaking market, well K-pop became successful even if most songs are in their native language. The times offer a generation that is more open to change and immersion to other cultures.

6. Combining ROMANCE WITH A ROMANTIC LOCATION is just a banger. There is nothing more compelling than real life drama unfolding. There is just something about not knowing what to expect. That’s the magic of a reality show. You just can’t help yourself in getting hooked with the pleasure of watching people either self-destruct or flourish in a situation.

7. A PROJECT LIKE THIS IS FINANCIALLY DOABLE. Start with government support via a grant that is open to private partnerships and sponsorships. Like most endeavors this requires a substantial financial backing. Given the importance of what this could do for the country in terms of measurable goals such as increase in inquiries, bookings, visits, social media presence, exposure and tangible marketable content, the returns definitely outweigh the risks.

8. SOCIAL MEDIA MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO GO VIRAL. It can become very popular locally but this has the possibility of spreading its wings beyond our shores. If done right, with a clear direction in terms of look, feel and target audience, this could become a creative, non-institutionalized way of promoting tourism to the world.

9. THE GOVERNMENT NETWORK, specifically its TV and social media assets can finally have bankable and interesting content to rally behind and make itself relevant to the new generation. Much like the success of the Big Brother franchise, this could put IBC 13 or PTV4 in the forefront and finally get a fair share of the TV audience.

The challenge for this pipe dream to happen is finding someone who has the power and is not afraid to make decisions based on new ideas. There is a reason this type of content is appealing to people across all demographics and cultures.

This will always be a winning formula and it could help to better promote a country.

Love is a theme that never grows old.

So again, imagine putting a group of beautiful men and women on an island and see where it goes.

Now that’s an idea.